Thai Style Rice Salad

If you have never cooked Jasmine Rice in coconut milk, you are in for a real treat.  Once you taste the creamy Umami of each grain of this dish, you may never look at rice the same.  The delicate touch of coconut flavor does not overpower the salad itself but rather cradles each perfectly cooked grain in a bed of mouthwatering goodness.  Read on.

Thai Style Rice Salad

1 English Cucumber

1/2 Red Onion

2 inch knob of fresh Ginger

1/4 cup Fish Sauce or Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1/2 bunch Scallions (Green Onions)

1/2 bunch fresh Cilantro

2 cups long grain Jasmine Rice

3 cups unsweetened coconut milk

1 teaspoon salt

Roasted Peanuts, for garnish

Sambal (Chili Garlic Sauce), for garnish

Begin by making the cucumber salad component so it can marinate while your rice cooks.  Grab a large mason jar and add fish sauce or soy sauce and sugar.  Next, thinly slice onions and ginger, add to jar.  I like to make 2 inch onion slices and go microscopic matchstick size on my ginger but suit yourself if you want to go bigger.  Just think bite-size.  Slice cucumber in half lengthwise and then longwise.  Remove seeds by gently scraping with a spoon and then cut halves longwise again, then slice into small chunks.  Add to jar.  Finely chop scallions and cilantro and add those too.  Now secure lid on jar and shake to your heart's content!  Set aside on counter.  Time to make perfect rice...

To a medium stainless steel sauce pan add 3 cups coconut milk and 2 cups rice.  Add a teaspoon of salt and stir while heating over high heat.  Keep stirring.  When mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to lowest possible setting, cover with lid.  Set timer to 15 minutes.  Now walk away.

When timer goes off, remove pan from heat, turn off stove but DO NOT OPEN THAT LID!  I don't care how hungry you are!  Now set timer for 10 MORE minutes and walk away, again.  

Okay - time to EAT!  Open pot and fluff rice with a fork.  Scoop into bowl.  Top with cucumber mixture, roasted peanuts, Sambal and more cilantro.  Enjoy every last bite.  Okay, now REPEAT. :)